Hi, I need some advice.

B16 trans fluid leak. tracked it down to being possible axle seal.

Got a new axle seal to install this week:


I've been searching similar leak threads trying to decipher whether it could be a bad axle and that is what caused the leak. (instead of axle seal)

- https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/help-del-sol-tranny-leak-pics-inside-2930282/
^the pics in here shows same size gap between axle and trans case I have.

- https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/passenger-side-axle-leak-3022210/
- https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/bad-axle-differential-1602242/

For the heck of it I decided to jack the passenger side of my civic up, threw it into neutral and spun the wheel/axle.

I watched for it to wobble, and didn't see anything like that.

I did notice however after spinning it about 180 degrees you can sometimes hear what sounds to be a ball bearing rattling as it would drop from the roof to the bottom with gravity.

Here's a video. Most of the clicking noise is normal, from me stopping and starting to turn the wheel w/ my free hand. You can hear the other noise sometimes.



So I'm not worried if it's a bad axle. $70 dollars. big deal. And I've already got the new axle seal.

Do you think the axle is bad?

Is it possible a bad axle can cause it to leak at the seal area, yet the seal is okay?

Should I just replace the seal and hope the leak goes away, or should I do the axle as well because of the slight noise it was making?

Also, I put different wheels on the civic a few weeks ago and I don't know if I'm just imagining it or the tires are easier to peel than the last ones.
*Yokohama 195 50 15s
But sometimes when I get into the top rpms when spirited driving it feels like my passenger wheel is just spinning peeling out.

I know there's a ton of different elements that make your tires have traction or just peel, but I would guess that is only speaking of taking off/launching, not top rpms loosing traction.

Is it possible the axle is broken and would produce this effect?

 

this is mine
apparently its the transmission because it gets worn out the gears start to have more play and adding to worn out axles theres even more play.

the only thing i can think of that would damage seals is axle vibration from using those cheap autozone axles that dont have harmonic ballancer on them( the rubber donut that OEM axles have)
http://youtu.be/3TPQbiSiQJg
http://youtu.be/KtFp659tBeI

 

thanks for the input.

I was spinning mine completely around, not just back and fourth, and when spinning around I could hear a metal ball sound.

I just jacked up my drivers side and spun the wheel around, still got the metal ball like a marble in rattle can sound after spinning a full revolution sometimes. And the sound came from the exact same place-passenger side axle seal/input. As if the ball was sticking to the roof inside there and falling to the bottom making the sound.

 

Sounds like something is broken inside the trans...like either the differential itself(spider gears) or the differential bearings. Grab the axle and wiggle it. See if you get any play inside the transmission. Pull the axle and see if there is anything obviously broken. Eliminate all the easy things first.

 

would that make it leak at the axle seal area though?

 

Yes if the differential/bearing are blown and tearing up the seal or wearing it out. It will leak without a doubt.

 

okay. Guess I'll replace the seal and just take a good look when I get the old one out.

thanks!

 

just popped the hood and wiggled both axles, they seem pretty sturdy, only move like a 1/16th inch each, and both driver and passenger side feels identical.

so maybe it's just my seal and nothing else. Will post when I pull axle.

 

Did you ever get this figured out? I have the same drip/leak problem on my passenger side axle. This all came about the last time I replaced both of my axles, (NAPA Auto Parts). So when noticing this...I figured that I must have nicked the passenger side axle seal when I was popping the old axle out of the transmission. So I went to the Honda dealership and purchased an OEM seal. When I removed the axle from the transmission...the seal didn't show any signs of rips or cuts...but I replaced it with the new one just to be sure...however...I still have the same problem. Could it be a problem with the aftermarket axle from NAPA? The axle locks into place just fine so I'm confused. I am certain that the leak is coming from this point of the transmission.

Honda MTF isn't cheap...please help.

 

ended up being diff bearing tore up and the metal bits were pushing against the rubber seal creating tearing / leaking .

also because of leaking trans was low on fluid. turned out LSD was a crap OBX which if ever low on oil ruin,,, it started binding up.

solution,,, slapped LS trans in. better gas mileage and sold the b16

traded it for rsx type s a couple months later

 

Wow...thanks for the update. I need to find time to tear into my transmission. It's tuff to do when it's your daily driver.